April 10, 2006

One dead in fuel tank accident at L.A. refinery

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A worker died on Monday after the
roof of an empty fuel storage tank at ConocoPhillips' oil
refinery in Los Angeles collapsed on him, a company official
said.

Four other workers, all employed by tank inspection and
repair firm HMT, were injured in the incident, ConocoPhillips
spokeswoman Lara Campbell said.

"Everyone at ConocoPhillips is deeply saddened by this news
and our thoughts are with the families and friends of those
involved," Campbell said.

Houston-based ConocoPhillips, one of the largest refiners
in the United States, halted all scheduled tank maintenance at
the refinery and started an investigation into the cause of the
accident, Campbell said.

Fuel storage tanks typically have a "floating" roof, which
lowers as fuel is removed. The workers held up the roof of the
empty tank with jacks and one of the jacks collapsed, a fire
official said.

Fire fighters responded to the scene of the accident, which
occurred about 9:30 a.m., and transported the workers to
hospital. One of the workers died at the hospital from his
injuries.

Production of fuels from the 140,000 barrel per day
refinery continued normally, Campbell said.